Sarfaraz Khan wants to grab the opportunity created by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket. The 27-year-old knows that there is a middle-order spot for the taking. Rohit’s opening spot will either be grabbed by KL Rahul or Sai Sudharsan, while Shubman Gill could take Kohli’s number four mantle.
This means that number five will be up for grabs in the upcoming England tour. And Sarfaraz is giving it his all to claim it. The batter from Mumbai has been selected in India A’s 18-man squad that’ll face England Lions in two practice matches and the main India team in an intra-squad match.
Sarfaraz Khan loses 10 kg weight
And to prepare for England, Sarfaraz has turned things up a notch. The right-handed batter hasn’t played a competitive game in 5 months. And wants to get match fit. So, he’s gotten on a strict regime.
Sarfaraz has changed his diet completely. As per India Today, he’s been eating boiled veggies and boiled chicken to get fitter. As a result, he’s lost 10 kg. By no means was Sarfaraz ‘unfit.’ We all saw how quick he was on his feet while facing spinners and pacers. But one can always get fitter.
Special batting preparations for England
But that isn’t all. Sarfaraz is also training for England. He’s been hitting the nets twice a day, with his main focus being on leaving the ball and being mindful of his off-stump. Sarfaraz doesn’t want to poke and prod outside the off-stump, which is a sin in English swinging conditions.
India A squad for the England tour
Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (vc & wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Tushar Deshpande
Note: Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the squad ahead of the second match.
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